Nepal ex-Dy PM Lamichhane’s arrest in cooperative scam triggers protest

Protests also took place In Pokhara — where Lamichhane was taken after the arrest — where people allegedly cheated by the cooperative bodies shouted slogans against Lamichhane demanding justice for the depositors.

Lamichhane, while being produced in the court, said that he had full faith in the judiciary and said PM Oli was turning into a “totalitarian.”

On Saturday, RSP supporters also protested in front of the Giribandhu tea estate in Eastern Nepal’s Jhapa — which is at the centre of another scam with Oli’s alleged involvement — demanding an investigation into the sale authorisation of the estate.

Prithvi Subba Gurung, the Information Minister, took cognisance of the demand and said Lamichhane’s arrest was just the beginning and more arrests would follow.

The special committee of Parliament that had identified Lamichhane among the beneficiaries of the alleged scam in the Pokhara-based Surya Darshan cooperative had also mentioned other leaders from the ruling coalition as involved, but the government has not initiated any action against them.

Official sources said that Dhan Raj Gurung, the vice president of CPN-UML’s ruling ally Nepali Congress, and UML leader Rishikesh Pokharel have also been involved in alleged irregularities in different cooperative bodies.